101 Dalmatians (1996)
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A video game designer and his pet Dalmatian must protect a litter of puppies from a fashion-obsessed villain.
The story
American video game designer Roger Dearly lives with his pet Dalmatian Pongo in London. While trying to develop a video game, he meets Anita Campbell-Green, the owner of another Dalmatian named Perdita. The two fall in love and marry, and Anita begins working as a fashion designer at the House of de Vil. Her boss, the fur-obsessed Cruella de Vil, becomes intrigued by Anita's designs. When Perdita gives birth to a litter of puppies, Cruella becomes obsessed with the idea of using them for her own fashion creations, leading to a tense dynamic between the couple and their formidable employer.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Roger Dearly, a video game designer in London, marries Anita Campbell-Green after they both fall in love with their respective Dalmatians, Pongo and Perdita. Anita works for Cruella de Vil, a fashion designer with a dangerous obsession with fur. When Perdita gives birth to 15 puppies, Cruella attempts to buy them but is refused. She then orchestrates a kidnapping of the puppies along with 84 other Dalmatians. While the couple is in a park, her henchmen, Jasper and Horace, steal the puppies. Pongo uses the 'twilight bark' to alert other animals, while an Airedale Terrier named Kipper helps the puppies escape to a nearby farm. Cruella eventually tracks them down but is thwarted by the farm animals. The police arrive and arrest Cruella, and the puppies are reunited with their owners. Roger and Anita eventually adopt the remaining 84 puppies and move to the countryside, where Roger creates a successful video game featuring the puppies.
- First release year
- 1996
- Runtime (minutes)
- 103
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Stephen Herek
- Writers
- John Hughes · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Glenn Close · Cruella de Vil; Jeff Daniels; Joely Richardson; Joan Plowright
- Genres
- adventure; comedy
- Themes
- protection of animals; family
- Tone and mood
- adventure; comedy
- Setting
- London and the English countryside during the 1990s.
- Premise and plot tags
- remake; live-action; animal-centric
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Hundred and One Dalmatians (1956 novel)
- Franchise connections
- 101 Dalmatians
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, with a 39% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 50 out of 100 score on Metacritic.
- Reported review scores
- CinemaScore · score: A · scale: A+ to F
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Globe Award · Best Actress · nomination; BAFTA Award · Best Makeup and Hair · nomination
- Production trivia
- Over 300 Dalmatian puppies were used during filming.; The film's costume designer convinced Glenn Close to take the role.; The film's music was composed by Michael Kamen.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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